For my last night of CMJ, I started at Alphabet Lounge to see Timbre and Siblings. Timbre, a harpist from Nashville, Tennessee, took the stage accompanied by a violinist and drummer – her sound was unparalleled. Seamlessly increasing and decreasing in both dynamics and tempo, Timbre defied what I believed to be true about the harp. Each song had a driving momentum that contrasted with Timbre’s almost angelic voice floating above the instrumentation. Next at Alphabet Lounge was the NYC-based band, Sibling. Sibling is comprised of six musicians: a guitarist, bassist, saxophonist, drummer, and two vocalists. As a larger group, their music crosses and blends genres; they merge the melodies and articulations of jazz and funk, while the vocalists blend R&B and rap. Although many of their tracks sounded similar, Siblings music undoubtedly makes you groove. From Alphabet Lounge, I headed to Drom and there I saw another NYC-based artist: Kendra Morris (pictured). Morris’ music, a fusion of soul and rock, was sung with control while still demonstrating her expansive range. Luckily, Morris’ voice, an odd mixture of operatic and Amy Winehouse rasp, was enough to distract from her backing track and the one other musician on stage. Nevertheless, there was a command of the space, and audience, that has been rare the past three days of CMJ. – Isabel Rolston
